Campus News & Events

Pam Tatge ’84, MALS ’10, P’16, director of Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts (CFA), was appointed to the board of the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA). Noted for facilitating Liz Lerman’s "Ferocious Beauty: Genome" at the CFA, an exploration of repercussions of genetic research in 2006, Tatge received the 2010 William Dawson Award from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, given to an individual or organization in the presenting field for sustained leadership, innovation and vision in program design, audience building and community involvement efforts. Additionally, Tatge worked closely with former NEFA executive director Sam Miller ’75 to…

On July 16, Physical Plant began spearheading a College Row sidewalk replacement project. After removing the existing concrete sidewalk, that spans from Church Street to Wyllys Avenue, contractors installed a 13-foot-wide asphalt path that will accommodate large groups of people, such as campus tours. The existing path was 8-feet-wide. "This sidewalk has a large amount of foot traffic all year round," said Wesleyan grounds manager Rob Borman. "The concrete sidewalks around campus also have shown considerable decay, primarily due to salt use in winter." The wider sidewalk also will allow grounds maintenance staff to remove snow faster and easier by using a larger machine. Asphalt,…

Three key players in Wesleyan baseball’s fantastic run over the last three years have signed professional baseball contracts this summer. Gavin Pittore ’16 signed a free-agent contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers; alumnus Nick Cooney ’15 signed a contract with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in the independent American Association; and Donnie Cimino ’15 was drafted in the 37th round by the Chicago Cubs.

Two Wesleyan faculty received NEH Public Scholarships to encourage new research and support their upcoming publications. Only 36 writers in the country received the award. The Public Scholar program, a major new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, is designed to promote the publication of scholarly nonfiction books for a general audience. On July 29, the NEH awarded a total of $1.7 million to 36 writers including Wesleyan’s Jennifer Tucker, associate professor of history, and Andrew Curran, the William Armstrong Professor of the Humanities and professor of French.

On July 31, nine Green Team members and a liaison from the sustainability office met outside the Allbritton Center to discuss their goals for the coming year. The Green Team focuses on finding simple measures that all Wesleyan offices can enact to conserve resources. Anita Deeg-Carlin, administrative assistant for the Physics Department, who initiated the formation of the team in 2014, led the meeting. The team’s hope this year is to focus on small, practical steps that can spark interest and change among other community members. Anika Dane, administrative assistant in molecular biology and biochemistry, suggested the team look into the…

In 1867, Middletown's Frances Russell donated a Gothic Revival Chapel in memory of her late husband Samuel Russell. Samuel, an entrepreneur and trader, was the owner and namesake of Wesleyan’s Russell House. The architecturally-distinctive brownstone Russell Chapel, which is listed on the Connecticut Register of Historic Places, sits atop the southwest hill on Indian Hill Cemetery and abuts Wesleyan University on Vine Street. Now, at 148-years-old, the Chapel has reached a dangerous structural tipping point and rehabilitation is desperately needed. “Indian Hill Cemetery is an integral part of our community,” said Wesleyan President Michael Roth. “Kari, Mathilde and I frequently take…

On July 15, Wesleyan Posse Scholar Royce Ebenal ’18 attended the White House Summit on Wireless Workforce Development, a conference that focused on the urgent need to train workers for careers in the wireless industry to ensure that the U.S. wireless network infrastructure capacity will be sufficient for the future. More than 80 leaders from wireless companies, federal agencies and academic institutions attended the conference. Participants also recognized that this was an opportunity to hire and train underrepresented groups, including veterans, women and minorities, for well-paying technical jobs. Posse scholar Rob Mendez ’18, who is an intern at the National Science Foundation this summer,…

From July 14–23, two ethnomusicology PhD candidates — Christine Yong and Ander Terwilliger — along with five alumni —Tan Sooi Beng ’80, Donna Kwon ’95, Jonathan Kramer ’71, Sylvie Bruinders ’99, and Becky Miller ’94 — joined University Professor of Music Sumarsam at the 2015 conference of the International Council for Traditional Music (ICTM) in Astana, Kazakhstan. Tan Sooi Beng was elected to the ICTO executive board. The International Council for Traditional Music is a non-governmental organization in formal consultative relations with UNESCO. It aims to further the study, practice, documentation, preservation and dissemination of traditional music and dance of all countries. At the conference, Sumarsam presented a talk titled "Expressing…

For her distinguished contributions to the geosciences, Suzanne O’Connell, professor of earth and environmental sciences, recently became a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. Society Fellowship is an honor bestowed on leading professional geoscientists. New fellows are nominated by existing GSA fellows in recognition of their contributions to the geosciences through such avenues as publications, applied research, teaching, administration of geological programs, contributing to the public awareness of geology, leadership of professional organizations, and taking on editorial, bibliographic and library responsibilities. “Suzanne O’Connell is an accomplished geoscientist who highly honors the traditions of research and scholarship in the geosciences,…

On Aug. 3, more than 20 Wesleyan employees helped erect a tent on Andrus Field that could be used as a medical facility in the event of an emergency situation. The inflatable tent, which measures 60 by 30 feet, is 1/5 of the complete Ottilie W. Lundgren Memorial Field Hospital owned by the State of Connecticut. If all sections of the tent were assembled, it would contain a 125-bed unit, an operating room, ambulatory care and triage areas. (more…)

On July 1, Associate Professor of Psychology Steven Stemler presented the results of a two-year study measuring creativity and citizenship in Connecticut's Higher Order Thinking (HOT) schools to an audience of faculty, staff and students in Judd Hall. The HOT schools are a collaborative of about 14 public schools in Connecticut that voluntarily commit to a philosophy of education, which emphasizes "teaching and learning in, about, and through the arts in a democratic setting," according to the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development Office of Culture and Tourism's website. About two years ago, the HOTs leadership team approached Wesleyan's Quantitative Analysis Center about conducting a study to assess…

Two Wesleyan faculty members presented talks at the 14th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia, held in Paris, July 6-10. On July 7, Miri Nakamura, associate professor of East Asian studies, read from a paper titled "Atomic Maids," which focused on the role of Japanese housekeepers in mystery novels that were indirect criticisms of nuclear issues. On July 9, Bill Johnston, professor of history, professor of East Asian studies, professor of Science in Society, professor of environmental studies, spoke about the changing role of the environment in ideas about disease causation in 19th century Japan. The conference is held every four…

Tatge Joins Board of the New England Foundation for the Arts

College Row Receives Safer Sidewalk Replacement

3 Wesleyan Baseball Players Sign Professional Contracts

NEH Supports Research, Writing Projects by Tucker, Curran

Wesleyan Green Team Brainstorms Sustainability Measures

Wesleyan Supports Historic Russell Chapel Restoration

Ebenal ’18 Participates in Wireless Infrastructure Conference at White House

Sumarsam, Students, Alumni Attend Traditional Music Conference in Kazakhstan

O’Connell Named Society Fellow of the Geological Society of America

Wesleyan C-CERT Builds Mobile Medical Facility on Andrus Field

Stemler Presents Findings on Creativity, Citizenship in HOT Schools

Johnston, Nakamura Present Papers at History of Science in East Asia Conference